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THE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015
PRINCE
GEORGE
CITIZEN
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Eryn Beddoes is one of the students who organized UNBC Students Pave the Way initiative, which will fund free bus service for the two weeks of the Canada Winter Games.
Students pay city's fare for free transit
Charelle EVELYN Citizen staff cevelyn@pgcitizen.ca
A student-led initiative to provide free bus service during the Canada Winter Games has reached its destination.
The UNBC Students Pave the Way campaign raised enough money to shutter public transit fare boxes between Feb. 12 and March 1.
More than $37,000 in donations and sponsorships will cover the anticipated revenue lost by the city to provide the free service.
The public transit system in Prince George costs an average of $25,500 every day.
That figure covers everything from the operator’s salaries to the cost of the buses, said B.C. Transit spokesperson Meribeth Burton.
The city shells out about $13,600 every day and the rest is covered by the province C$11,900) and rounded out by cash fares and prepaid passes.
The donations from more than 40 individuals and organizations will cover the lost cash fare revenue of about $2,100 per day.
When the students approached organizers with their idea, everyone was on board, said Emily Harrison, sustainability manager with the Games.
“There were, however, doubts that all 18 days would be achieved, given the huge financial and human resource constraints on the community in preparation for the Games,” Harrison said.
“These UNBC student leaders, however, would not be deterred.”
Donor fatigue was a hurdle to overcome when the campaign began in October, said Eryn Beddoes, a recent graduate of UNBC’s environmental engineering program and member of the university’s sustainability committee.
But students sold eventual supporters on the
potential environmental, financial and social benefits.
“Fewer vehicles on the road means less emissions and release of pollutants,” said Beddoes.
“For a city that experiences air quality issues, this is already worth its weight in gold.”
Having free, safe transportation around the city could also encourage more people to use the bus on a regular basis and allow residents and visitors to explore areas of the city to which they may be less inclined to try to drive during the busy Games period.
Post-secondary students already receive a form of free transit by way of the U-Pass, said Eric Depenau, chair of the College of New Caledonia Students’ Union, and students are eager to share that experience with everyone else.
“Having access to public transit will definitely support a lot of people who wouldn’t be able to afford it or have mobility issues to get down there,” Depenau said.
“We know there’s going to be thousands and thousands of extra people here in the city joining us for the celebration so being able to use public transit will definitely be more convenient for folks.”
Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall and UNBC president Daniel Weeks praised the students’ efforts, with both organizations among those sponsoring a free day of transit.
“By doing the work you’ve done the Games have taken on, I think, a different quality,” Hall told the student leaders.
“They’ve taken on an ownership that you can be proud of.”
Weeks said he was proud of the Pave the Way campaign being yet another reason the post-secondary institution is “an incredible university.”
“This week I’ve talked about how our students led the way on our receiving the fair trade designation, I’ve talked about our incredible student athletes who are going out into the
community and visiting people at the hospitals and working on anti-bullying campaigns and here we are again with another incredible group of students that are leaders in our community and really building something that is absolutely spectacular for the north - that’s what this is all about,” Weeks said.
Many communities choose to waive this kind of revenue and offer free days of transit for various occasions, such as Canada Day or New Years’ Eve, but nothing has ever been done to this magnitude, said Burton, who agreed with the students’ assessment that the initiative could potentially lead to more transit use.
“It’s going to be congested at some of these centres and arenas where the events are happening,” Burton said.
“If we can encourage people to park their vehicles, give transit a try for two weeks we know that we’ll start building greater ridership and getting new customers.”
Bus service boosted
During the Canada Winter Games, BC Transit is adding extra runs to get spectators to venues.
For evening events and the opening ceremonies on Feb. 13, a special shuttle will run between downtown (at Seventh Avenue and Dominion Street) and CN Centre.
There will also be a shuttle running between downtown and UNBC for the closing ceremonies on March 1.
Extra runs are also being added for week-nights and Saturdays on routes 5, 11, 89,
15/88 (Westgate special), 88 and 15/89 Hart special. Sundays will see Saturday-level service.
Some trips on routes normally associated with UNBC and School District 57 classes are cancelled.
For a full schedule, visit www.bctransit.com.
Ex-fire chief attacked woman at hall, court told
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
Emotions ran high Wednesday as a third alleged victim gave her account at the trial for a former chief of the Fort St. James Volunteer Fire Department accused sexually assaulting three female firefighters at the Prince George courthouse.
A sometimes tearful Joy Reierson, 46, told the court that on the evening of April 4, 2013, when a practice night was being held at the department’s main fire hall, Robert Bennett, 50, asked her into a room to speak to her.
Bennett closed the door behind them so they were the only two in the room but Rei-erson “didn’t think anything of it,” because she thought the discussion was going to be about candidates for the department’s scholarship program.
But as she sat down and opened a folder, Bennett sat down next to her and put his hand on her hand, Reierson testified, and instead of administrative concerns, began talking about having trouble with his wife and being worried about the twins they were expecting.
Then Bennett told Reierson she’s always wanted him and he’s always wanted her, put his arm around her and tried kissing her, the court heard.
As she pulled back, she heard a knock on the door.
Bennett answered and a fellow fire fighter asked if everything was all right.
“I said ‘you bet, everything’s all right, it’s not a big deal, nothing I can’t handle,’” Reier-son testified.
Reierson said she then saw Bennett shut the door and then heard a click, indicating he had locked it.
“I then thought ‘oh, frick, I’m in trouble, I’m in real trouble,” Reierson said.
Reierson said she got up and tried to get to the door by ducking underneath his legs -she’s about five-foot-one and estimated Bennett is about a foot taller - but he fell on top of her and pinned her on her back while holding her arms down.
She turned her head as he tried to kiss her, he then undid his belt and pulled out his penis, the court heard and started grinding against her while she remained fully clothed in a fire department T-shirt and jeans.
Reierson said she tried talking him out of what he was doing but it came to an end when there was another knock on the door.
— see BENNETT, page 3
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